Lammily: Challenging the Perception of Beauty

Societies’ perception of beauty is completely based on a false reality that is perpetuated by television, the fashion industry, and even the dolls our children play with today. The debate over this issue, this craze, has long been discussed; however, little has changed. Each year we can count on watching “Angels” seductively walk down a runway which promotes borderline unhealthy physiques that women all across the world painstakingly try to achieve. Every time we walk into a toy store we can count on seeing the iconic Barbie doll, an idealized, yet implausibly, shaped blonde figurine which millions of girls and boys have grown up with. Nickolay Lamm, creator of Lammily , has finally challenged these surreal desires.

Lamm, a Pittsburgh based artist and researcher, has begged the question: What if fashion dolls were made using standard human body proportions? Provided by the CDC, Lamm has used the average body measurements of a nineteen year old women to generate a 3D digital prototype of a doll he hopes to produce.

Just two days ago, Lamm used Crowdtilt to garner crowd-sourced funding for his venture. His target amount to cover the costs of manufacturing was $95,000. Today, he has succeeded this goal by over $100,000 with twenty-nine days left in the first round of financing.

Lamm has been lauded for his previous work by Buzzfeed, Business Insider, Huffington Post, and many more news outlets. The USA Today featured Lammily just yesterday. Lamm’s ability to ask the unthought of questions and then visualize the answers in artistic renderings is the reason why Lammily is so innovative. In our terms, Lamm is an entrepreneur. A clear void in the fashion doll market was apparent and he has created a way to effectively exploit it.

I would also like to comment on his use of crowd-funding, a brilliant idea in my opinion. Rather than trying to meet with investors to back his project, which we know can often lead to failure, he opened Lammily up to the public for support. This suggests (A) his confidence and the market potential for the fashion doll, and (B) his understanding of the intended retail audience. I do not think crowd-sourcing works for every entrepreneur, as it is necessary that your product receives the proper amount of attention for such a decision to pay off. With that being said though, I believe this way of financing is an under-utilized option within the entrepreneurial community.

Nickolay Lamm and Lammily are prime examples of why entrepreneurs and innovation are integral parts of our society. Lammily challenges a convention that, frankly, is unattainable while creating a new socially progressive alternative. This is what pushes boundaries. This is how new paradigms are created. Congratulations on a wonderfully thought out product.